Improvement in machines for sewing soles to boots and shoes



H. DUNHAM, J r. MACHINE FOR SEWING SOLES T0 BOOTS AND snoss.

w rz Z M f 6 e M M 9 p e S d e t n 8 t a P 6 UNITED STATES PATENT HENRY DUNHAM, JR, OF ABINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

' IMPROVEMENT m MACHINE-S roR' srwme SOLES T0 Boers AND sects.

- Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.- 36,396, dated September 9, 18672.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, HENRY DUNI-IAM, J r.,

a citizen of the United States of America, and

. a resident of Abington, of the State of Massachusetts, have made an Invention of a new and useful Machine for Sewing the Sole to the Upper-heather of either a Boot or a Shoe; and I do hereby declare the same to befully'described in the following specification and rep cal andtransverse sections of'it, taken-through its middle, one exhibiting the parts to the right and the other those to the left of the plane of section.

The nature of my invention or improvements consists as follows-viz., of a combination of a curved hooked needle and the last as made with a concave bottom, in order that the needle'may work through the upper-leatherand the sole at or near their adjacent edges; also, in the combination of the last-holder with its carrying-plate in such manner as to enable the former to be inclined or adjusted with respect to the latter as may be necessary from time to time, to vary the position of the last in order to maintain the plane of the guide-wheel flange tangential to the curve of the bottom of the last; also, in an arrangement of the feeding mechanism with respect to the last-carrying-plate supporter and the sewing mechanism; also, in a curved awl and a curved hookneedle arrangedand-combined with a guidewheel and a last provided with a concavebottom, the whole being in manner and so as to operate substantially'as hereinafter described.

- In the drawings, A represents the frame of the sewing mechanism, while B is the drivingshaft thereof. 0 is the curved hooked needle;

.D, the curved awl; E, the needle-closer, and F.

the thread-guide.

G is a guide-wheel, made witha flange, a, and in form like a common railway-wheel, it being supported by a horizontal journal, I), held in position by a stationary arm, 0. It is against the flange and the lower part of the periphery of the said guide-wheel that the sole and upper are borne while being sewed together. The said sole and upper-leather are to be arranged on a last, J whose bottom is to be-csncave instead of convex' ,'as in ordinary lasts, this form being necessary in order to enable the needle and awl to'operate in a proper manner with respect to the edge .of the sole and the upper. This concavity'of the bottom extends longitudinally as well as transversely through the last. The said last. is

supported by a last-holder, I, which, atone or its heel end, is hinged to its carrying-plate I, while its toe or other end is free to slide on a perforated pin, K, projecting from the said part I, as shown in the drawings. The said pin has a series of holes made'transversely through it, as shown at (Z.- By inclining the last-h0lder with respect to its plate I and passing a pin through that hole of the series 41 which is next to the last-holder and between it and the plate 1,! Iain enabled to retain the last-holder in the assumed inclined position. 7

There is nothing specially new in the construction'of the last-holder; but the edge orperiph'ery of its carrying-plate has the form shown in the drawings, and is provided with teeth, like a gear, and engages with a-pinion, K, fixed on a horizontal shaft, L, which is supported by an upright standard, M, whose lower end is hinged or jointed to'atreadlelever, N. v v

The carrying-plate I is made with a recess or chamber, a, the inner surface of whose edge is parallelto the periphery of the plate, and is supported on a roller, f, which, in its turn, is sustained byand so as to be capable of freely revolving on a journal, extending from the standard M. Aratchet, 0, is fixed on the outer end of the shaft L, and is actuated by a pawl, P, carried by a lever, Q, which has the shaft for its fulcrum, and is jointed to arod, R, whose lower endis jointed to one arm of a lever, S, whose fulcrum projects from the middle of the lesser arm of the treadle-lever. A rod, 1, jointed to the other arm of the lever S, is carried upward and jointed to one arm of another lever, U, which is arranged within the frame A of thesewingJnachine. The other arm of the le'ver U carries a roller, 71, which, during the revolution of the shaft B, is struck by a cam, V, carried by such shaft. The said cam,.by its form, serves} to effect the proper feeding movement of the last, which, while the needle and awl are entering the sole and upper, is to be at rest. From the above it will 'rollerplaced nearto the needle and awl, but

1y on the treadle-leve'r and the upright standcarried .by two' bent levers, W X, which are arranged side by side and play in vertical arms of these levers are connected to two arms,-

ed and arranged so as to impart to the needle mode of actuating the thread-carrier z or the be seen that the feeding of the article to be sewed is not effected by a toothed or serratedis accomplished by mechanism arranged mosting plate I; v

The needle, as well as the aw1,:is curved in the arc of a'circle, and they are-respectively" ard which supports the last-'carrier-supportplanes on one fulcrum-pin Y. The rearmost i k, (projecting fromseparate shafts Z m,) by connecting-rods l m. Each of the shafts lm has another arm, n oro, extending from it and being operated by one of two cams, p q, fixed on the driving-shaft, the whole being constructand 'awl their necessary motions, in .order to enable what is termed chain-stitch sewing to be. eflected'with a waxed threadwhen passed through the thread-carrier z.

As my invention has no reference to any the bottom of the sole or the ridge or crease usually made therein for reception of the needle, which, besides being curved, as described,

is provided with a pointed extremity and a o hook, as shown at s. v

With my invention the sole and the upper of a shoe are sewed together-in very much the same 1 manner in which they are. usually connected by hand-sewing, except that the stitch differs from that usually performed by the workman when using either :one'or two threads.

My invention, or what I claim, is as followsz l. The combination of the covered and hooked needle, with the last constructedwith a concave bottom, the whole being substantially as described and represented.

'2. The combination 'of the last-holde, with its carrying-plate, in such manner as to enable the former to be'inclined with respect to the latter substantially in the manner and as set forth.

3. The above-described arrangement of the feeding mechanism with respect to the lastcarrying-plate supporter M and the sewing mechanism. o

4. ,A curved awl and a curved-hook needle, arranged and combined with a guide-wheel, G, anda last having a concave bottom, the whole being in manner substantially as speci- HENRY DUNHAM, JR. Witnesses:

R. H, EDDY,

F, P. HALE, Jr. 

